On an as-yet-untitled book she might publish next: “It’s a fantasy that takes place in another world where people are using bows and arrows and swords. There’s a little bit of magic, but it’s a very limited form of magic. The characters are human, and some have the ability to use magic and some don’t. It’s pretty dark. People die. The main character is a 17-year-old girl, and she’s kind of cool.”

On another book she might complete and publish: “When I was growing up, I was obsessed with mermaids. I do have a very elaborate outline for a book. I’m not working on it right now, but I have the feeling it’s going to be big. It’s going to be 1,000 pages.”

On the second book in her three-book adult science-fiction series that began with The Host in 2008: “I have the outline written and the first two chapters. I need to get on it.”

The Finishing School Series is set in the same world as The Parasol Protectorate series, only 25 years earlier, and features a finishing academy located in a giant caterpillar-like dirigible floating over Dartmoor in which young ladies are taught to . . . finish . . . everything . . . and everyone . . . as needed. There will be steampunk etiquette! There will be well-dressed espionage! There will be Victorian fake food. There will be flying mechanical sausage dogs named Bumbersnoot. I am excited. The first book will come out in 2012